Vehicle construction.



A, J. CARLSON.

VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATiON FILED mmzm 1917.

1, ,gz gga, Patented J an. 1,1918.

INVENTOR W NE E ALJKWZJHIZ 5 ATTORNEY ARTHUR J. CARLSOIL or ZDOVETAIL, MONTANA.

VEHICLE consriwcrroiv.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ARTHUR J CARLSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dovetail, 'inthe county of Fergus and State of Montana, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Vehicle Constructions, of which the following is a'specification;

This invention relatesto wagons andit has particular reference to the running gear of farm and lumber wagons;

In the use of wagons of this character on rough and mountainous roads it is found that the reach bar is extremely liable to breakage, this being mainly due to the'twisting action on said bar which is caused when a'wheel'at either side of the wagon sinks into a rut or declivity, thereby causing one of the axles to become twisted to an oblique position. If a heavy'load is carried, breakage of the reach is almost inevitable under such circumstances.

The present invention has for its object to produce a running gearof simple and improved constructionwhereby freedom of oscillation of the rear axle about the axis of the reach will be obtained, this being found to have the desired effect of avoiding twisted action upon the reach. 7 Y

Afurther object of the invention is to simplify andimprove the construction and arrangement of parts whereby the desired 1 action is obtained. 1 1

A further object of the invention is to produce a device of the character described, of modified construction, in which relative oscillatory action between the reach bar and the rear axle will be obtained and by which at the same time a limited lateral movement of the reach bar will be permissible.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature oftheinvention is better understood,-thei same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made-to'the precise structural details therein exhibited-,-

but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claim may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the Spe cification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 28,1917. Serial No. 158,018.

'ters of reference.

Patented. Jan. 1,1918.

tion. i Fig. 2- isa perspective detail view showing the clamp plates separated from each otherk" Fig. 3 is atop plan view. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the device.

Fig. 5- is a detail view in side elevation of ja portion of the spring supported and its supporting collar. 1

Correspondingparts in the several figures of the drawings are denoted by like charac- "The reach bar 15 0f the improved device plank or bar of rectangular crosssection. The rear axle16 and the bolster 17 are provided with opposed semi-circular recesses 18,

'19, combining to form a bearing in which a vided at the ends thereof with annular reach bar,'the rear-axle being shown in secreach bar --is'of ordinary construction consisting of a w flanges 22 abutting on the front and rear faces of the axle and bolster,"thereby preventing displacement of the sleeve, it being understood that the axle and the bolster are "securely connected together-in any conventional and well known manner.

C is a clamp devicecomprising top and bottom plates 23, 24, the opposed faces of which are provided with cavities combining to-form a bearingfor a rotary-collar '25.

,The opposed faces of the clamp plates 23,

2d are provided with central longitudinal grooves 26 for the passage of the reach bar andwith opposed divergent grooves 27 in :whichthe forward ends of the hounds 28 are secured, -the rearward'ends of said hounds being extended-between the opposed faces-of the axle 'andthe bolster and secured by means of clips 30. The clamp plates 23, 24: are secured together by fastening members such as bolts 31- which also extend through the forward. ends of the hounds for the urpose of securing the latter in positionhe rotary collar 25 has a bore 32 of rectangular cross -section'for the passage of the reach bar. The latter is provided with a plurality of apertures 33 for the passage of 'a connecting bolt or pin 34 whereby it is adjustably connected with the collar 25 and with the clamp plates, the latter being each provided with a transverse slot 35 through which the connecting member 34 extends, thereby per ,7 mitting rocking movement of the collar 25 with respect to the clamp device." 1

The collar 25 is provided with aflange, 36' at the rearward end thereofjs'aid' flange being accommodated in grooves 37 in the opposed facesofthe'clamp plates. Lengthwise displacement of the collar 2 5 with. re-; spect to the reach is thereby prevented.

It will be observed that by; the} construction thus far described theclamp 'deviceC rigidly supported with respect to the rear axle by means of hounds 28. Thereach bar is longitudinally adjustable with respect vto the clamp device and the rear axle when the connecting memberf 34 is' removed, thereby enabling thelength ofithereach controlling the distance. between thefront and rear axles of the-running gear to be varied. WVhen thedevice is in operation, if

a one of the hind wheelsshould sink in a rut,

vthe hind axle-and the clamp device, by reason of the sleeve 20 and collar- 25, will be free to rotate, about the axis otthe reach bar..

Conversely, if a Jfront wheel should sink into a, rut, the reach. bar with the-collar 25 v and the sleeve 20 will be free to rotate in the vbearings provided for said sleeve. and

, ath'e freedom of; the collar 25 to rotate with V fcol-lar; Twisting strain; on the reach bar will thus, be rendered-impossible and the :strength,adurability andlife of. the runnin gear will thus be, greatly increased.

It may, be desired under manyicircumstances to: produce. a construction (whereby alimited swaying or lateral movement of the reachbar. will be permissible. ,Toprovide for such a contingency, the constructionsil-lustrated in ,Figs, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings is resorted .to. ,By this construction the boreotthecollar 25,-here designatedby;32, is made of a width materially 'zexceeding thev width of the reach bar and flat. -clongitudinally curved springs 40 are .securedon the inner side walls of the'bore by 'fastening members such as rivets 41, said springs "being provided with upturned ends 42 abutting on the/side faces of .the

: reach bar whichzwill thereby bennormally held positioned about midway between the ,SI-ClE 'Wall'S soft the bore 32'. Lateral or sway- ;ingmovement ofthe. reachibar with respect to the'c0llar-25 will thus .be'rendered possible, the-ends of the connecting member 34 being free to move in the slots 35 of the ;,clampplates.

Such lateral or swaying movement, however-,- will not lIltEI'fGIG Wltll be practically imperceptible,- A, particular advantage of.

respect tothe clamp plates in the manner herein previously described. By the construction just described the tendency to side strain on the reach bar will be overcome,

and a'v ery flexible and yet strong and durableconstruction will be obtained. It may beadded that the construction illustrated inEigs. v3, ,e; andfi will not necessitate any alteration "in the construction ordarrangement of the sleeve. 20 with respectvto the bolster, and, the ;rear axle, the motion: of said sleeve caused'by the swaying movement ot' thereach bar being soslightas to resides. in; thez faet that the; parts of; the

device arefew and es e m complication.

The Parts rrf nt y. ns s i add .i-

duced at small expense; Thesedevices may ventional construction, necessitating no p c l Or p i a dPar s e ir i ns no skilled labor Ill-the installation thereof.

secured, I a v collar fitted for rotation in the clamp device, a reach bar extend-ing through the collar and through. the rotary this invention also; be ,quickly and inexpensively installed 3 vupon any running gear otordinarycon- .85 Having: thus ,described the invention, I

with said clamp device and extended-be-.;; "tween the axle and I the" bolster and-there elementbetween, the axle and the hounds,

said vreach bar being of rectangular cross section,.and said collar havingaboreof rectangular.crosssection-and of a width materially exceeding the width of the reach bar, said bar beingialso free tomove lat- "erally with respect tothe clamp device,jand springs secured on the sidewalls. of the bore of the collar andterminallyengaging the side faces-of the reach bar, ancl a connectmember,

ing element extending vertically through; the collar-and-the reach bar, the clampdevice being provided with transverse slots in top and bottom portions thereof to,;per- -mit la'terahmovement ofthe connecting In testimony whereoffI-affix signature. 2

'ARTaUw A lc oplesot this patent'may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner got r atentii v 2 Washington,D.'G. I, r 

